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Somerville 

As It Really Is 



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SOMERVILLE 

AS IT REALL Y IS 



Copyright, 1909, by Nation Press, jVem York 



Issued hy Board of Trade 
Someroille, N. J. 



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©CI.A251588 



SOMERVILLE AS IT REALLY IS 

By C. P. HOAGLAND 

ALONG with the many natural advantages of Somerville that 
go to make up a most beautiful and healthful section of 
New Jersey, peculiarly adapted to the metropolitan home-seeker, 
are the business opportunities that have been taken advantage of 
in the past by hustling young men, and which enterprises are 
now on the safe road to success. These young men have in the 
past ten years built up mercantile establishments in Somerville 
that rank high in every particular, with the stores of the city 
merchants. By their business methods they have brought thou- 
sands of dollars' worth of new business to Somerville, and each 
year sees a larger investment of capital in a number of the grow- 
ing institutions. Somerville stores in every line are models of 
practical modern business methods and every article on the mar- 
ket, from a paper of pins to the highest priced automobile, can 
be purchased on Main Street at prices many times less than the 
same goods are sold for in the city markets. 

Since Somerville's younger generation took hold of business 
enterprises, which even extended to the local government, which 
within a year has been changed from the antiquated town form 
to the modern borough act, things have been booming. By 
judicious advertising Somerville merchants have thoroughly suc- 
ceeded in making it known that tills is flic place to shop, and every 
day one can see hundreds of people from the surrounding coun- 
try come here in wagons, automobiles, trolleys and trains. They 
go home laden with packages of goods purchased here. There 
is a variety of merchandise manufactured here that is sold all 
over the world. Orders for goods from Japan, Russia and even 
from distant Africa have been manufactured here for some time. 
The largest concern in the borough is the Somerville Iron Works, 
which are now paying out in wages to their employees, about one 
quarter million dollars per year. They manufacture soil pipe 
which is shipped all over the country. The Carbon Stove and 
Range Company have shipped their ranges to many foreign coun- 
tries, and are constantly receiving orders from all over the United 
States. The Somerville Manufacturing Company manufactures 



woolen cloth and not long- ago ranked with the largest concern 
of its kind in the East. The Glen Rock Woolen Company do a 
mail order business in men's clothing and during the last four 
years have built up a large establishment. 

The borough has three newspapers. They are the Somerset 
Democrat, Unionist-Gazette and Somerset Messenger. Their 
circulations cover the entire county, and nearly every Somerville 
merchant is an advertiser. They are published in eight page 
forms and are clean, bright and interesting. The Somerset Demo- 
crat and Somerset Messenger cater to Democratic politics, while 
the Unionist-Gasette champions the Republican interests of the 
borough and county. The printing business also is an important 
industry, and in the three offices conducted by the newspapers, 
any job of printing can be done as well and much cheaper than 
in the cities. As a consequence the newest and most modern 
printing machinery has been installed in these plants especially 
to compete with metropolitan printers. 

The trades of Somerville are all organized and labor conditions 
are on a high plane. Only minor labor difficulties have marred 
the existence of the organizations and the unions are conducted 
for the benefit of both the employer and employees. 

In Raritan, a mile away, and connected by trolley and train 
service, are the large plants of the Raritan Woolen Mills and 
the Somerset Manufacturing Company. Though these plants 
have not been operated in full capacity since the panic of 1907, 
they are now making several lines of new goods and their pros- 
pects for running on full time in the near future are very en- 
couraging. D. R. Kenyon & Sons are manufacturers of woolen 
mill machinery and they have shipped their modern machines to 
all parts of the world. There are many available factory sites in 
Somerville with good railroad facilities, and it will only be a short 
time when Somerville will be noted as one of the manufacturing 
centres of New Jersey. 

The banking business of Somerville is taken care of by two 
large and flourishing institutions, which are conducted along safe 
and conservative lines. The First National Bank, with nearly 
one million and a half in resources, caters to a large number of 
patrons. It is located in the center of the town in its own build- 
ing, which is equipped with the most modern burglar and fire- 



proof vaults. The Second National Bank is the younger institu- 
tion of the two, but is rapidly increasing- its l)usiness, and l)y 
efficient and capable management ranks high in the list of nation- 
al banks in New Jersey. It also has a savings department. The 
Somerville Dime Savings Bank is one of the most prosperous 
banks of its kind in New Jersey. It is located on Division Street 
in its own building and by careful and conservative business meth- 
ods has established a large clientele. The Raritan Savings Bank 
of Raritan is also a growing institution and cares for the savings 
of a large number of the thrifty mill operators of that town. The 
Citizens' Building Loan and the People's Building Loan of Somer- 
ville have been successfully operating for many years, and thou- 
sands of dollars which have been paid in on shares in these Asso- 
ciations have been reinvested in Somerville and Raritan homes. 

Above all things, Somerville is proud of its volunteer fire de- 
partment. There are four companies housed in modern homes 
of their own with all the latest fire fighting apparatus. The 
Lincoln Chemical Engine Company with their handsome ap- 
paratus and speedy team, have thirty-five men enrolled and they 
are usually the first to answer the borough fire alarm. Central 
Hook and Ladder Company have fifty men enrolled and own a 
modern apparatus. They also have a team of horses ready at all 
times for fire duty. Somerville Engine Company No. i have a 
new home with all the latest appliances for fire fighting. Their 
steamer has recently been rebuilt and is in excellent condition. 
The West End Hose Company with forty men have saved thou- 
sands of dollars worth of property since they were organized. 
They have a fire house on Doughty Avenue and maintain a social 
organization. 

Somerville boasts of one of the finest court houses in the State 
of New Jersey. The building, completed at a cost of $300,000, 
is located on the count}- property between Bridge and Grove 
Streets. All the county officers are under its one roof. The 
building is of white Alabama marble and makes a most imposing- 
appearance. The new armory of Company M. on Grove Street 
and the new fountain erected to the memory of the late John H. 
Lord add greatly to the beauty of the county grounds. 

The Somerville Public Library has a cosy home on Maple 
Street and is well stocked with the l)est literature and reference 



books of the day. The postal and raih'oad facihties of Somerville 
have aided largely in the steady growth of the various business 
enterprises. The post office is equipped with free delivery ser- 
vice and rural carriers that cover a large territory. There are 
thirteen mails received daily and as many or more dispatched to 
all parts of the world. 

The Central Railroad has always given Somerville good rail- 
road facilities and there are now thirty trains daily to and from 
New York. The trains in the morning run at half hour inter- 
vals to accommodate the large commuting element who long ago 
saw the advantage of living in Somerville. The average run- 
ning time to New York is a little over an hour for the locals, but 
all the express trains make the run in an hour. The Public Ser- 
vice trolley line extends through Somerville to Raritan and from 
that point New York, Newark, Philadelphia and Trenton may all 
be reached by this company's network of lines. When the New 
Jersey Central complete their tube connections from Jersey City 
to New York, Somerville will be less than an hour from Broad- 
way. But even better than this, plans are now being perfected 
by the Central to electrify their road to Somerville which will 
then bring the Somerville commuter within "45 minutes of 
pjroadway." These improvements will forever uphold property 
values in and about Somerville. 

Building operations in Somerville were exceedingly quiet for 
several 3^ears, but within the past two years there have been many 
pretty homes erected and several business properties. The ten- 
denc}^ is for modern structures throughout and since the New 
Yorker has been here and found that this was the ideal com- 
munity, there have been many changes from the old to the modern. 
East Somerville a few years ago was nothing more or less than 
farm lands, but to-day one sees a pretty addition to the borough 
with many beautiful and modern homes. The prospect for con- 
tinued growth in this direction is most encouraging. North 
Somerville has already taken a boom and the prospects point to 
a large development in this section in the next few years. Build- 
ing lots can be purchased in this section now at prices that should 
prove most interesting to the person who is tired of paying rent. 

The social life of Somerville is featured in many ways and 
serves as a good excuse for anyone to make it their home. There 



are clubs for both sexes, and a series of amateur theatricals an- 
nually result from these oroanizations. The older men enjoy 
their social meetings in the Bachelor Club which has been estab- 
lished about forty years. The youn^s^er men are members of the 
Somerville Athletic Club which has a large membership and is 
active in the entertainments of the town. The men also ha\'e 
their fraternal org-anizations and nearly every secret order in ex- 
istence is represented here by the numerous lodges. The ladies 
have their card clubs and organizations for charitable work. 
Noted among these is General Frelinghuysen Chapter D. A. R. 
This body holds monthly meetings and several events during the 
year take place at the celebrated Wallace House, which is of Revo- 
lutionary fame and once sheltered General George Washington 
during the war for independence. 

Another noted woman's work in Somerville is the Somerset 
Hospital, which has passed its tenth birthday and is now one of 
the most commodious and modern hospitals in New Jersey. This 
great work is largely carried on by the \\'oman's Auxiliary Board 
and requires most of their time and attention, but their labors in 
the past have been amply rewarded by the wonderful results that 
have been accomplished. From a small emergency hospital it 
has now grown to a large institution. Experienced nurses are 
in constant charge and the medical staff is composed of the most 
noted physicians and surgeons in New Jersey. 

To sum up: What more could be said — either l)y the home- 
seeker, lover of pleasure, or the man who has money to invest 
in business? Somerville is not a city. It is a big, healthy, grow- 
ing town and its future is in the ascendency. A few months ago 
a large fire destroyed two big manufacturing plants, making a 
loss of $100,000, but this did not put them out of business, or 
drive them away. To-day these plants are rebuilt on a larger 
scale, and doing more business than before. In s])ite of the many 
offers from other places, they wisely remained in Somerville for 
their future home and where they had before built up their large 
establishments. Good roads, fine shaded streets, good sidewalks, 
sewer, water supply, trolleys, in fact every public utility added to 
what Somerville naturally had, makes it a mighty good place to 
live in and work. 



SOMERSET COUNTY: AN ABLE 

RESUME 

By HON. JAMES J. BERGEN 
Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey 

THE County of Somerset was created by an act of the Provin- 
cial Assembly on May 14, 1688, and its boundaries are 
therein recited as follows : "Beginning at the mouth of the Bound 
Brook where it empties into the Raritan River, and to run up 
the said brook to the meeting of Bound Brook with Green Brook, 
and from the said meeting to run a northwest line into the hills ; 
and upon the southwest side of the Raritan River to begin at a 
small brook where it empties itself into the Raritan about sev- 
enty chains below the Bound Brook, and from thence to run up 
a southwest line to the uttermost line of the province, to be di- 
vided from the said County of Middlesex, and thereafter to be 
deemed and taken a county of this province; and that the same 
county be called the County of Somerset." 

This description shows that there were but three boundary 
lines named, one was the Bound Brook on the east, another a line 
from the junction of the Bound Brook with the Green Brook to 
run in a northwest line into the hills ; and the third began in what 
is now Franklin township on the river 1)ank, seventy chains be- 
low the mouth of the Bound Brook, and from thence in a south- 
west line to the uttermost line of the province. This ran through 
Franklin and Montgomery townships, southwesterly, until it 
struck the dividing line between East and West Jersey, for, as 
the act was passed by the Provincial Assembly for East Jersey, 
the expression the proz'incc was manifestly intended to mean the 
Province of East Jersey. No western boundary was given, nor 
was there any legislation providing for the creation of a munici- 
pal government, or authority given to select and appoint officers, 
and if such officers were appointed and acted, it must have been 
under some implied power drawn from the general statutes, the 
common law, or power arbitrarily exercised. 

On January 21, 17 10, an act was passed changing the boun- 
daries and making them more definite. As described, the line 
began where the Bound Brook enters into the Raritan River and 
followed the river to tlic month of a stream called Lawrence's 



Brook, some distance below the city of New Brunswick. The 
hne then followed the course of the brook northwesterly, until it 
struck "the great road that leads from Indians' Ferry to Cran- 
berry Brook"; from thence it ran southwesterly to Sanpinck 
Brook ; then down that brook to the division line of the province ; 
from thence it followed the division line, to the Essex County 
line; then easterly along- that line to the Green Brook, and then 
followed the Green Brook and Bound Brook to the beginning. 

On March 15, 17 14, the boundary line between Somerset and 
Middlesex was again changed, and it was made to begin where 
the road crosses the River Raritan at Indians' Ferry and to fol- 
low the road leading towards the Falls of the Delaware, until it " 
struck the eastern division of the Province of East Jersey. By 
this change all of the city of New Brunswick lying south of the 
great road to the Falls of the Delaware, being Albany Street 
within the limits of New Brunswick, was taken from Somerset 
and given to Middlesex. Indians' Ferry w^as located at the foot 
of Albany Street and took its name from the owner and manager 
of a ferry across the Raritan at that point. 

On November 24, 1790, "the middle of the main six rod road 
as established by law from the ferry at the city of New Bruns 
wack formerly called Indians' Ferry to the boundary line of the 
County of Hunterdon, on the road to Trenton," was declared to 
be the boundary line l^etween Somerset and Middlesex, and in 
1850, the boundary line between Somerset and Middlesex was 
changed, and so much of the County of Somerset as lies southerly 
of the Mile Run Brook, between the Raritan River and the stage 
road was set ofif to the County of Middlesex. 

Other acts have been passed at dififerent periods, some for 
the better defining of the lines of the county, and others making- 
radical changes, but beyond the taking of a portion of the coun- 
ty to create, in part, the County of Mercer, no appreciable part 
of our territory has been set off to another jurisdiction. The 
burning of the court house at Millstone by the British soldiers 
during the Revolutionary \\'ar destroyed many valuable records 
and documents, the loss of which has made it difficult to trace the 
institution of our courts and the practice follow^ed in conducting 
them with any degree of certainty. What judges presided, how 
often thev met, and the character of the cases heard and deter- 



mined was all a matter of record, which if preserved would have 
afforded the means for an intelligent presentation of the subject, 
the loss of which makes the result of such an effort as mine un- 
satisfactory. 

It is not my intention to givt in detail a history of the erec- 
tion and destruction of the successive court houses which have 
existed in this county, for that work has been as successfully done 
by others as the material at hand will permit; still as the place 
where a court is held cannot well be disconnected from a narra- 
tive of the establishment of the court, I shall briefly refer to the 
subject. While the county was created in 1688, it was not until 
February 28, 17 14, that authority was conferred to build a court 
house. Under this act a court house and jail were built near 
Six Mile Run. The precise time of its erection cannot be fixed, 
but as the act of 1714 required the county to observe certain 
regulations looking to that end, among which was a direction to 
select a manager who should have charge of the building, we 
have a right to assume that action looking to that end was taken 
within a reasonable time. This building was accidentally de- 
stroyed by fire, and on March 15, 1739, an act was passed for the 
building of another court house in this county. This act provided 
that the location for the new court house should be ascertained 
by an election, which resulted in the selection of Millstone, after- 
ward called Hillsborough, as the place for the builcHng of the 
court house, and it must have been completed as early as 1746, 
because about that time the jail was broken into by rioters and a 
prisoner released. This building was destroyed by the British in 
1779, and with it all the records except the road book and some 
books of mortgages. 

The book of minutes of the Board of Freeholders under date 
of May 10, 1780, shows that the county paid one hundred and 
twenty-five pounds and five shillings to Cornelius Lott, for hiring 
and paying men to collect the iron and bricks belonging to the 
county, found after the court house had been "burned by the 
enemy." The same minutes show that on April 10, 1781, a 
meeting of the Board of Justices and Freeholders was held pur- 
suant to an advertisement, at the house of Cornelius Tunison, at 
Raritan, now Somerville, for the purpose of raising money to 
build a jail, and that at that meeting the sheriff laid before the 



board the difficulties he labored under for want of a place to con- 
fine prisoners committed to his charge, and requested the board 
to erect a jail. A motion was made to raise the money to erect 
a jail at or near Tunison's Tavern, the place selected by a vote 
of the county agreeable to law, but the motion was lost, five vot- 
ing- in the affirmative and six in the negative, those voting in the 
affirmative being the representatives who lived north of the river ; 
and in the negative those living south of the river. An analysis 
of this vote leads to the belief that the majority of those present 
were not disposed to yield gracefully to the vote of the county, 
removing the court house from Hillsborough to Raritan. At a 
meeting of the board, held at the same place January 14, 1782, it 
was voted to raise the money to build a jail; and on September 6, 
1782, the board voted to join with the congregation of Raritan 
in building a court house to be used jointly by the congregation 
and the county, in pursuance of which a building was erected 
under an arrangement wnth the congregation of the Raritan 
Church by which the county was to refund to the congregation 
their proportion of the cost whenever the agreement should be dis- 
solved. This arrangement did not continue very long, the first 
meeting of the Board of Freeholders in the new court house be- 
ing May 12, 1784, and on May 10, 1786, Mr. Frelinghuysen, on 
behalf of the congregation requested the board to order a suf- 
ficient sum of money to be raised by taxation to repay the congre- 
gation its constribution for building the court house, the congre- 
gation having decided to withdraw from its joint ownership with 
the county, and the following year the county paid to Peter D. 
Vroom, trustee of the Raritan congregation, two hundred and 
twenty-eight pounds, six shillings and ninepence, being the 
amount agreed upon by appraisers as due to the congregation. 
The jail appears to have been insufficiently constructed, because 
at nearly every meeting of the Board of Freeholders the sheriflf 
of the county, for his own protection, filed a protest with the board 
stating that he was unable to hold the prisoners committed to his 
charge because of the insecurity of the jail, and on January 3, 
1797, a motion was made for the building of a new court house 
and jail, which was lost, six voting in the affirmative and six in 
the negative, the affirmative votes all coming from those living 
on the north side of the Raritan River, but on January 3, 1798, it 



was decided by a vote of ten to five to erect a new court house and 
jail, to be built of brick. This court house was placed on the lot 
where the present court house now stands, and is the present 
building except as remodeled, radically, in 1849, ^^^^^ since then 
in other ways not important. With this short resume of the 
places in which our courts ha^-e been held, I now turn to the 
consideration of the establishment of the courts, and such inci- 
dents as I have been able to gather relating to the character of 
the administration of justice in this county. This of necessity 
will be desultory, and to a degree unsatisfactory, because of the 
impossibility, owing to the destruction of all the records in the 
Alillstone Court House at the time it was burned, of obtaining the 
material for a connected or full account. 

On January 21, 1710, an act was passed for dividing and 
ascertaining the boundaries of all the counties in the province 
of New Jersey, to which 1 have above referred. Section 10 of 
this act, after declaring that "whereas at present there is not as 
yet a competent number of inhabitants in the County of Somerset 
tor the holding of courts and for juries," ordained that the Coun- 
ty of Somerset should be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts 
and officers of the County of Middlesex, but provided that "the 
jurors might be promiscuously taken out of either or both of said 
counties" ; this arrangement probably continued until after the 
erection of the first court house, for in 171 1, Thomas Farmer 
was appointed judge of the counties of Middlesex and Somerset. 

The records show that in 1739, the governor appointed as 
judges in this county, Thomas Leonard, who lived in Prince 
Town, John Corle of Rocky Hill, John Van Middlesworth, Gize- 
bert Lane, and Paul Miller. The latter at one time resided in New 
Brunswick, but from the fact that an advertised letter was ad- 
dressed to him at Bound Brook, the inference is, that he lived in 
the latter place, at least part of the time. In 1749, the same 
judges, excepting Lane, were reappointed, John Stockton taking- 
Lane's place. These judges appear to have held the court of Com- 
mon Pleas, Quarter Sessions, Oyer and Terminer, and all county 
courts, the judges of the Supreme Court only appearing once a 
year, if as often as that, to hear issues pending in that court. 

In the year 1745, serious disturbances arose in the county 
of Essex over the attempt of the New Jersey proprietors to dis- 



possess persons occupying lands bought by them from the In 
dians, who were described in a communication on the subject, as 
the "native, owners and proprietors of the same." These pur- 
chasers and occupants learning that the proprietors of New Jer- 
sey had surveyed and located lands which they had purchased 
from the Indians, which the proprietors claimed to hold by a 
superior title, and by virtue thereof, asserting the right to eject 
the occupants, those who had purchased from the Indians met, 
and appointed a committee to act for them. One of this commit- 
tee, Samuel Baldwin, being arrested for cutting timber on lands 
in his possession, was committed to jail in Newark, and a large 
body of men, said to have numbered four hundred, gathered to- 
gether, and by force, rescued Baldwin, notwithstanding the read 
ing of the riot act to them by the sheriff. This conduct aroused 
the public authorities, who sought to suppress the rioters, but the 
sympathy of those not especially interested, and the activities of 
those who were, created a public sentiment which rendered an 
efficient enforcement of the law difficult, and the uprising spread 
to the adjoining counties of Middlesex and Somerset, where sim- 
ilar conditions existed, and in the latter county a large body of 
men, some coming from Newark, broke open the county jail and 
released one Abraham Anderson. I am unable to state the 
reason for his commitment, but in view of the fact that the res- 
cuers were largely from Newark and of the party formed to re- 
sist the ejectment of land holders by the proprietors, it is a fair 
inference that the charge against him grew out of the land 
troubles. For this offence Abram Bainbridge, Samuel Price, 
John Anderson and John Bunbridge, Jr., were indicted, charged 
with committing riot in Somerset County. The loss of the 
records which I have referred to, deprives us of any knowledge 
of the disposition made of the indictment. The action of jurors 
in other counties in refusing to convict on similar charges, war- 
rants the belief that no penalty was ever inflicted. 

In 1752, Jacob Van Nest from the North Branch of the Rar- 
itan was murdered by his own negro. The account of it published 
at the time states, that all the provocation was, Mr. Van Nest 
taking a little of the fellow's tobacco; and that evening having 
been on a visit to Dr. Van Wagenens, his neighbor, two negroes 
waylaid him, and knocked him oft' his horse, and with an axe split 



his skull, and drag-g-ed him a little out of the road ; the horse com- 
ing home soon after without his master, gave some alarm, and 
the next day proper search being made, he was found. His negro 
was thereupon taken up and brought before the coroner's inquest, 
and being made to touch his master's body, the blood suddenly 
gushed out of the dead man's nose and ears, as it likewise did from 
the negro's, who thereupon being stung with guilt, confessed the 
crime, and was together with his accomplice directly sent to jail 
in order to receive their just demerits. This murder occurred in 
December, 1752, and before the first of the year 1753, the Van 
Nest negro had been tried, convicted, and burnt at Millstone 
The report states that "he stood the fire with the greatest intre- 
pidity." As Abraham Van Dorn was sheriff of this county in 
1754, the probability is that he was the sheriff who executed the 
sentence of death on this negro. What disposition was made of 
the other negro does not appear. 

In the year 1753 three men were convicted and condemned 
to die, two for burglary, one for horse stealing. Of these one was 
reprieved and two executed, but the record does not disclose the 
name of the one that was spared. 

In 1756, a special court of Oyer and Terminer was called to 
try John Conolly, for the murder of an Indian woman called Kate, 
the wife of one George, a Friend Indian, who had lived many 
years in the County of Somerset. From the examination and con- 
fession of the prisoner Conolly, it appeared that there was a com- 
bination between the prisoner, Joseph Chesney, Daniel Harnet 
and one Muckleroy, to murder the famil}^ of Indians and take 
their scalps to Philadelphia, and there swear that they were enemy 
Indians that they had killed in the province of Pennsylvania, to 
get the reward there ofifered for Indian scalps. These men, armed 
with guns, cutlasses and an axe, went to the Indian wigwam 
near Peapack on April 12, 1756, about the middle of the night, 
broke open the door and called to the Indian man to come out. 
He, not obeying immediately, Chesney fired his gun into the wig- 
wam but missed the Indians; upon which the Indian man in a 
great fright burst through the back of the wigwam and ran for 
his life. Conolly ran after him with an axe, the Indian having 
fallen, but before Conolly reached him, he arose and made his 
escape. The men then returned to the wigwam and Conolly, with 



liis axe, knocked down the woman and cut her head all to pieces. 
They next proceeded to murder the children, one of them a girl 
about ele^•en years old, the other t\vo being- twins of about twelve 
months. The children, although badly hurt, were not killed. 
Conolly was arrested and committed to the jail in Somerset Coun ■ 
ty for trial. This outrage created considerable excitement and 
resulted in a proclamation by the Gmernor commanding all mag- 
istrates to apprehend the murderers and to commit them to jail, 
i)ut no further record of this matter is to be found. 

The unsettled conditions caused by the Revolutionary War, 
prevented the Supreme Court from meeting at Perth Amboy or 
Trenton, and on September 16, 1777, an act was passed by the 
legislature authorizing the Governor of the State to appoint 
places for the meeting of the Supreme Court, in pursuance of 
which the Governor, on June 10, 1778, appointed Millstone and 
Burlington as the two places where the Supreme Court of the 
State should meet. It was directed to hold its sessions in Bur- 
lington on the first Tuesday in April and September, and on the 
second Tuesday in May and November at Millstone. It is a mat- 
ter of tradition that Chief Justice Brearley heard at Millstone, at 
a session of the Supreme Court, the argument of the question 
whether the powers of the legislature were restricted by the con- 
stitution. The constitution not having been approved by the peo 
pie, it w^as contended that it had no greater force than a legislative 
act, and might be repealed by a subsequent legislature, but the 
Chief Justice thought otherwise, and determined that the power 
of the legislature was controlled by the terms of the charter or 
constitution adopted by the provincial congress. This was the 
first authoritative judicial determination in this country holding 
that a legislative body must keep its legislative action within con- 
stitutional limits. After the war closed the courts gradually set- 
tled into normal conditions, and from that time the procedure 
has been regular, and within well defined limits, and the admin- 
istration of the law received with respect by the people. 

It is not inappropriate to the subject we are considering to 
recall an incident in the administration of justice in this county in 
which Judge Leonard was involved, and against whom serious 
charges were made, although they do not appear to have been 
well founded. In 1751, one James Bonney, then imprisoned in 



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Photos by Geo. Bcnbrool; Somervilh 

(1) Colored School. (2) Primary and Grammar School. (3) High School 



/•Iit,li,x hi/ llrii. Ihnhnxik, SiniirrciHc 

(I) Lafa^elle School {East Somerville). (2) Public Library. (3) Somerset Hospital. 



the Somerset County jail for debt, presented his complaint to the 
council and general assembly, charging Judge Leonard with mis- 
feasance in office and praying for legislative relief. This peti- 
tion was presented each year until 1754, and no action being- 
taken, it does not appear to have been further pursued by the 
petitioner. In a communication dated Somerset Jail, December 
17th, 1752, addressed to, and published in, the New York Gazette 
Mr. Bonney complains that he had been divested of his estate by 
an unlawful and disqualified sheriff; and was then confined in jail 
for the payment of his debts, and notwithstanding his repeated 
application to the legislature of the province for relief, he had not 
been able to obtain it and therefore was obliged to appeal to the 
public. To this petition was annexed a copy of the law providing 
for the appointment of sheriffs, which, among other things, pro- 
vided that if one appointed as sheriff did not enter into a bond and 
take the oath required, any act done by such person under color 
of his appointment should l)e illegal and void. Following this 
were the proceedings taken in the general assembly, which recited 
the petition by Bonney, showing that one Riddel, acting as sheriff 
of the county of Somerset, had sold the mills and estate of Bonney 
and then removed himself out of the province with the money 
thus obtained, without satisfying the debt, and being thus de 
prived of his property and without other means for discharging 
liis debt, his creditors had caused him to be imprisoned, and 
charged that Riddel had not properly qualified himself to be slier 
iff. Whereupon it was ordered that Mr. Van Middlesworth and 
Mr. Fisher, two of the members from Somerset County, should 
wait on the Governor and acquaint him that Thomas Leonard as 
judge or Chief Magistrate of the County of Somerset, undertook 
to take security of, and qualify the said Riddel as sheriff' of said 
county. 

On February nth, 1752, the facts were laid before the Gov- 
ernor at considerable length, a synopsis of which is substantially 
as follows : that the securities given by the pretended sheriff were 
neither of them freeholders of the county, and that this was well- 
known to Judge Leonard ; that Riddel neither signed the roll nor 
took the oaths ; that he was not a freeholder of the county as re- 
quired; that he was a person of infamous character and vicious 
behavior, and had little or no estate, to which Judge Leonard 



could not be a stranger; that the appointment was recommended 
by Judge Leonard, and was a matter of surprise, concern and 
dissatisfaction to the principal inhabitants; that Judge Leonard 
suffered the pretended sheriff' to act under color of his commis- 
sion ; that he continued to act until the clerk of the county refused 
to seal and deliver him writs ; notwithstanding which Judge Leon- 
ard suffered him to exercise the office, by color of which he sold 
the mills and estate of Bonney and ran away with upwards of 
two hundred pounds of the money arising from the sale ; for want 
of which Bonney was then confined in the jail of the county of 
Somerset, and his family in deep distress; that if the pretended 
sheriff had not run away, or if his securities had been sufficient 
to make good the damages, Bonney 's creditors might have been 
satisfied, and he at liberty to make provision for his wife and 
family; that Judge Leonard induced one John Horner to become 
security for the sheriff by representing to him that other persons 
of sufficient means were to join in the bond; that the bond was 
sealed and acknowledged before Judge Leonard and ought to 
have been delivered by the said judge to the clerk of the County 
of Somerset; that the House had ordered two of their members 
to inform Judge Leonard in a private way that they wished in- 
formation on the subject which the judge refused; that these acts 
discovered Judge Leonard's neglect and breach of duty to the 
King, as well as his violation of the law of the colony, and that it 
was not for his majesty's service, or the public good for Judge 
Leonard to retain his respective offices any longer. 

To this, under date of February 21, 1750, Judge Leonard 
replied that John Riddel, late pretended sheriff of Somerset Coun- 
ty, lived in Prince Town for many years and kept store there, 
where he married a woman with a good estate real and personal; 
that Riddel, so far as he knew, had behaved himself well and ob- 
tained a good reputation in the County of Somerset; that Bare- 
foot Brunson, then sheriff of the county, died, whereupon Rid- 
del obtained recommendations in writing to succeed Brunson as 
sheriff from most of the magistrates and freeholders of the 
county. That upon these recommendations Riddell was com- 
missioned as sheriff' of the County of Somerset without any ap- 
plication from Judge Leonard, other than the signing of the rec- 
ommendation; that Riddel having obtained the commission came 



to him as the nearest judge to give security, and because he had 
no copy of the sheriff's act, he desired Riddel to have the bond 
drawn, either by Mr. Cotman, acting as deputy in Somerset, for 
the Attorney-General, or by Mr. Hooper, clerk of the county, 
the bond as he believed having been drawn by Mr. Cotman; that 
Riddel told him that John Horner, William Montier and John 
Denison would be his securities; John Horner was then deemed 
to be the owner of real estate in Middlesex worth several thou- 
sand pounds ; that William Montier, then rented a house of Judge 
Leonard, in Prince Town, and was building a house in Middle- 
sex on the other side of the street from where he then lived, and 
though no freeholder in Somerset was deemed sufficient to join 
with Horner ; that afterwards Riddel told him that Denison would 
not sign the bond, and his name was crossed out, when it was 
executed by Riddel, Horner and Montier and delivered to the 
clerk of the County of Somerset; that as he had no copy of the 
sheriff's act, and as the rolls for the oaths were in the hands of 
Paul Miller, another judge of the county, who for many years 
had usually administered those oaths, he ordered Riddel to go to 
the clerk of the count}^ with his commission, and be sworn b> 
Judge Miller, and that until Riddel ran away he had never known 
that he had not taken the oath ; that until a short time before he 
ran away Leonard had never heard of any blot on his character 
or any vicious behavior, but was then informed that he had 
taken to drink privately, but never heard of any other vice; that 
when he ran away he was indebted to him for thirty pounds, and 
declared that whatever he did was bona fide according to the best 
of his knowledge. Mr. Bonney concluded his statement by say- 
ing that he could not obtain a hearing nor a trial since the year 
1746, for which he appealed to the records of the courts, and that 
he could not get any relief by the legislature; notwithstanding 
"they have taken out of my hands by pretext of law, I humbly 
conceive, as good as 1,500 or 1,600 pounds, and not one penny 
of my debts paid with it, and I do beseech all my loving country- 
men that have a regard to pity and compassion for their fellow 
creatures, to assist me in bringing my case before his majesty and 
Council." Concisely stated, the administration of justice in this 
county permitted a sheriff to sell a man's property under an exe- 
cution, abscond with the proceeds, and then for at least six years 



hold the former owner of the property in confinement for non 
payment of a debt, to satisfy which his property had been sold 
by a pretended officer, whose acts were made illegal and void 
by the law because he had not properly qualified. A careful read- 
ing of the documents remaining undestroyed relating to this 
question do not justify the charge of malfeasance against Judge 
Leonard, but it would seem that there should have been some legal 
method of redressing so manifest a wa-ong. If the sheriff's act 
was void, the sale made by him could have had no legal effect; 
if on the other hand he was a dc facto officer, it would seem that 
his bondsmen should have been -liable. That they were persons of 
property abundantly appears from Judge Leonard's statement. 

Judge Leonard seems to have been a man of some conse- 
quence in the community, for he was not only one of the Judges 
of the county, but for a long time served as a member of the 
Council, a position which he resigned July 31, 1758, because of 
advancing years and physical infirmities which prevented his 
properly performing the duties of that office. He died during the 
following year. 

As indicative of public sentiment on a question which now 
finds no support among law abiding citizens, and the evils flow- 
ing from which have for many years been recognized and sup- 
pressed w^ith a vigorous hand, was the raising of funds to pro- 
vide for the building of churches, bridges and almost every char- 
acter of public institutions by lottery. The newspapers of the 
period between 1750 and 1760 were filled with advertisements 
of these lottery schemes. To be sure they were condemned by 
some, and articles depicting the evils to result therefrom were 
published, still the system was not without its open advocates, one 
writer going so far as to assert that the practice of drawing lots 
had the countenance of the scriptures, in that the ruler of the uni- 
verse had "ordered his chosen tribes to use them in the division 
of their inheritance, and that they were used by the apostles them- 
selves." While an awakened public conscience was sufficient to 
secure, in 1759, a law prohibiting lotteries in New Jersey, sub- 
jecting those who might violate it to a fine of five hundred pounds, 
the evil was not cured, and the law was evaded by advertising the 
drawing of lotteries to take place on Biles Island, which was lo- 
cated in the Delaware River near Trenton, but bevond the bound- 



J. & A. G. NEVIUS 

SOMERVILLE, N. J. 

We extend to you a welcome. Make this store your 
headquarters while in this town. 

THIS store is truly a woaderful Dry Goods headquarters and the most satisfactory 
and economical Dry Goods salesroom in this town. Every piece of Dry Goods in 
our rooms is original in design, stylish in effect and moderate in price. Each article 
is the best production of its kind from Europe and America's largest factories ; each the di- 
rect result of careful planning and of close attention to every detail of its makeup. There 
isn't a deficient article in the whole stock, and when these better goods actually cost you 
less than the happy-go-lucky kind, who wouldn't take them if they knew ? 

That is exactly where our store stands. Thousands know how we help them to save 
on their Dry Goods wants, then there are others who don't and they are the ones we 
cordially invite to visit this store and at least become acquainted with us and our stock. 

Don't overlook this great Dry Goods store when in want of CARPETS, RUGS, DRY 
GOODS, SILK, SHOES and all FANCY GOODS. 

Sooner or later one learns the lesson of true economy — that it pays best to patronize 
the store that exemplifies reliability in every article sold, from the smallest to the most im- 
portant. That's why the people do their Dry Goods, Carpet and Shoe buying at this store. 
We greet you, stranger. You're welcome whether you desire to purchase or not. 

Yours Commei'cially, 

J. & A. G. I^EVIUS. 



aries of the province. One of these lotteries advertised to be 
drawn on Biles Island, had for its object the finishing of the 
Lutheran Church in Bedminster, and it is with astonishment 
that we of this generation learn that this lottery, contrary to the 
spirit of the law, was advertised to be drawn beyond the jurisdic- 
tion of the province, under the supervision of Paul Miller, one 
of the judges of the court of Common Pleas of the county, a 
judge who not only heard civil, but also criminal cases, and im- 
posed the sentence of the law upon those convicted of its infringe- 
ment. With Judge Miller were associated as supervisors, Bryan 
Leferty and Daniel McEown, two of the Justices of the Peace for 
the County of Somerset. That these judicial officers should thus 
countenance a violation of the law because the unlawful act was 
to be performed beyond the jurisdiction of the courts authorized 
to punish its violation, creates a situation that in this day would 
meet with universal condemnation, and indicates an absence of 
judicial ethics difficult to understand. 

Many other instances of the peculiar conception which our 
pre-revolutionary courts entertained of judicial functions might 



be quoted, but the length to which this paper has grown forbids 
their citation. Enough has been shown to disclose the want, to a 
certain extent, of the sentiment now prevalent, that to entitle 
a court to that respect and reverence which the efficient adminis- 
tration of justice requires, its judicial officers must be above sus- 
picion. 

That the judges of our county courts prior to the Revolu- 
tionary War were men of honor and probity is not to be denied, 
and we must assume that the burning of men at the stake, the 
execution of prisoners for burglary, the maiming of men by cut • 
ting off their ears for conspiracy, and the supervision of lotter- 
ies by judicial officers in violation of the spirit of the law, was 
consistent with the popular sentiment of that era, or at least that 
it did not fall under the condemnation of the great majority of 
the public. 



BY WAY OF COMPARISON 

By JUSTICE CHARLES W. PARKER 

JN a guide book, published by the Central Railroad of New Jersey in 1864, I find 
the following: "The road from Elizabethport to Somerville was built by the 
Elizabethtown and Somerville Railroad Company under a charter granted in 183 1. 
The company was poor and the road was opened first from Elizabethport to Elizabeth, 
and then to Plainfield, then to Bound Brook, and finally, in 1842, to Somerville by a 
desperate effort, resulting in the failure of the company and the foreclosure of the 
mortgage upon the road; the road being sold in 1846, the strap rail was taken up by 
the new organization, the track relaid with a heavy rail and preparations made for a 
large business." 

But the large business had to wait until by degrees the road was completed from 
Elizabeth to Phillipsburg, and extended to New York as its easterly terminus. This 
occurred in 1864 when the little book referred to was published. Of Somerville the 
author has little to say and that damning with faint praise. The copper mines adver- 
tised in the gazetteer thirty years before, and in Smith's History a century earlier, are 
again to the fore; and the sanguine writer anticipates a great transcontinental railroad 
line from Somerville via South Branch Railroad to Flemington, thence by what is 
now a branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad to Lambertville, and by the Bel-Del to 
Trenton and Philadelphia, while the northern road conducts to Easton and Belvidere. 
"Thus," says the enthusiastic writer, "will Somerville, apart from its natural attractions, 
become a prominent centre of interest on account of its important position as respects 
commercial intercourse." But Somerville, both as a great railroad centre and as a 
great mining centre, has proved a disappointment. It remains a healthy, honest, whole- 
some county town, the centre of a rural community already invaded by the homes of 
the wealthy and destined to further invasion as the automobile extends its ravages 
and as new railroads are built and the common roads improved and multiplied. 



Somerville Iron Works 



^HIS COMPANY will at an early date 
occupy its handsome and commodious 
new plant, the largest of its kind in the 
East. The main building, 248 x 246, is erected 
of brick and steel throughout, with a bonanza 
tile roof. In addition to this structure there 
are machine, pattern and woodworking shops, 
whose construction are modern to the most 
minute detail. That the product of the Somer- 
ville Iron Works, Soil Pipe and Fittings, is of 
a high grade can be verified by the popularity 
in which its product is received by the commer- 
cial world, shipments being made throughout 
the United States, Canada, West Indies and 
Honolulu. This assertion is doubly proven, 
however, by the fact that throughout last year's industrial 
depression the plant of the Somerville Iron Works ran full 
time, with increased force. 



Somerville Iron Works 

Somerville, New Jersey 

New York Office Resident Manager 

740 East 14th Street W. J. Kirby 



SOMERVILLE'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

By MR. W. A. ACKERMAN 

PUBLIC education in Somerville had its inception more than 
a century ago, in the foundation of an academy, "for the 
instruction of youth in the learned languages, the English, the 
arts and sciences and public speaking." The oldest building that 
is still in use was erected in 1856, ten or twelye years before the 
school district of Somerville was incorporated, and the free 
schools were established. 

The present equipment comprises three buildings centrally 
located on ample grounds, and a four room building recently 
erected in the eastern section of the borough. In the main the 
structures are substantially built of brick, and are generally well 
equipped, lighted and ventilated. It may not be wise to offer here 
any coming expectations, but those citizens who look most clear- 
ly into the future predict the erection, at some date not far dis- 
tant, of an imposing building well equipped for high school pur- 
poses. 

The school numbers this year more than twelve hundred 
pupils and thirty- four teachers and supervisors. In its organi- 
zation are represented all the educational departments usually 
found in a municipality of this size, including some of the manual 
arts, music and physical training. In the kindergarten department 
three separate classes are now maintained, and a fourth is pro- 
jected. The elementary classes are closely graded, with small in- 
tervening steps, and with a flexible system of promotions ; so that 
the individual aptitudes of pupils may easily be recognized and 
encouraged. 

The secondary department, or high school, which employs 
at present seven teachers and has an attendance of one hundred 
and fifty students is constantly increasing in size and in efficiency. 
Here are offered three courses of study of four years, each aiming 
to secure the attainment of character, of culture, and of economic 
worth; but differing in the attention given to the ancient lang- 
uages on the one hand and to commercial subjects on the other. 
While the curriculum aims first to give the best possible educa- 
tion to those who have no prospects of further formal training, 



Culm Rock Spring Water 

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The Greatest of all Table Waters 

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Doctors recommend it 
.Your neighbors drink it 
Thousands have been benefited by it 

Culm Rock is not only an Ideal Table Water but is of 
the greatest benefit in cases of disease of the kidneys and 
bladder, for rheumatism, dyspepsia and indigestion. 

Write for the Water Book 



Culm Rock Spring Water Co. 

Somerville, N. J. 



BURNER'S BAZAAR 

Post Cards, Stationery 

Phonographs 

Books, Toys 



26 WEST MAIN ST. 
SOMERYILLE, N. J. 



Long Distance Telephone. Call No. 20 
Private Direct Wires to New York 

SNYDER it WRIGHT 



STOCK AND BOND 
BROKERS 



STOCKS, BONDS AND 
INVESTMENT SECURITIES 

Bought or Sold for Delivery or on Margin 

32 West Main St., Somerville, N. J. 



%\)t Unionist (iajctte 

The Advertisers' Medium 

Largest Circulation in Somerset County 

The Newspaper that goes into the homes. Linotype composition 
Fine Job Work. Half-tone Work of the finest grade. Maga- 
zines and Pamphlets. The largest and most complete 
printing plant in Central New Jersey 

C. H B AXEMAN, Manager 



the school undertakes to prepare students for any of the American 
colleges and technical schools, and admits graduates on certifi- 
cate to many of the same. 

Efficiency first, then economy. This seems to have been the 
constant aim of the school authorities and citizens. The school 
is not charged with extravagance. The average cost of educa- 
tion per pupil enrolled was last year approximately twenty-five 
dollars, and the local tax levied for school support amounts this 
year to not more than 43 cents per hundred dollars of assessed 
valuation ; which is, in either case, considerably less than obtains 
in many similar districts in this suburban section. 



I 



HISTORICAL HOUSES 

By C. P. HOAGLAND 

N all that has been said about "Modern Somerville" a few 
instances of ancient Somerville are in order, several of which 
remain almost in the same condition as they were in the Revolu- 
tion. Most noted of these is the Wallace House, now owned 
by General Frelinghuysen Chapter, Daughters of the American 
Revolution. This house is in Somerville and was built by Wil- 
liam Wallace. During the winter of 1778-9 it was occupied by 
General and Mrs. George Washington and to-day the house is in 
exactly the same condition as then. Naturally a number of 
Revolutionary relics have been added, but the house remains un- 
disturbed, in charge of a competent caretaker, and is naturally 
the mecca of all curiosity seekers who visit Somerville. 

Another house of historical fame is the old house occupied 
by Joshua Doughty at the end of Doughty Avenue. This was 
the old parsonage, built in 1750 by Rev. John Frelinghuysen with 
bricks imported from Holland and in which Dr. Hardenburgh 
resided during the whole of the Revolution, sleeping with a loaded 
gun beside his bed. General Washington and his wife often 
visited this house and spent many pleasant evenings in the societv 
of Dr. Hardenburgh and his wife. There are still a number of 
old houses in Somerville that figured prominently in the Revolu- 
tion, but one by one they are being razed to make place for modern 
structures. However, the future of the Wallace House is assured, 
and from its present good condition may even remain standing 
another century. 




Photus Oy trtu. Jicntji-ook, lioinerriUc 
(1) Church of Immaculate Conception. (2) First Reformed Church. (3) Second Reformed Church 




Ph'ilus hi, (ico. liililinml;. ^niiirrcillr 

{]) St. John's Episcopal. (2) First Baplist. (3) Methodist Episiopal. (4) St. Thomas A. M. E. 



Somerville Stove Works 

Manufacturers of Stoves and Ranges 
Factory and Show Room 

Somerville, N. J. 

Telephone 1-J 

Economy 

WE can save you $10.00 by biu'ing- a rang-e direct from the manufac- 
turers. The *^ Somerset Cabinet*^ meets the wants of those 
who desire a perfectly Plain Range for the kitchen. Special care has been 

taken to incorpo- 
rate every new fea- 
ture, both in design 
and construction, 
to make these 
goods ready sel- 
lers, and we solicit 
your presence at 
our factory where 
we carry and dis- 
play the most com- 
plete line of stoves 
kin our sample room 
on exhibition. The 
rapidly increasing 
demand for our 
*'Built to Bake" 
ranges is the natu- 
ral result of their 
surpassing merit. 
Economy in fuel 
consumption, sim- 
plicity of opera- 
tion, and honest 
construction are 
their chief charac- 
teristics. Guaran- 
tee given with 
every stove. 




COURTS OF SOMERSET COUNTY 

By JUSTICE CHARLES W. PARKER 

WITH the opening of this beautiful structure for use by the 
courts and county officials, the County of Somerset may be 
said to enter tipon a new epoch of her existence. For the fifth 
time since the erection of the original court house have different 
or increased accommodations for the county business been found 
necessary ; and as we set apart this building to-day for its appro- 
priate uses, it is well for a few moments to look back over the two 
centuries and a quarter of the existence of this county and note 
in the briefest possible manner the beginnings of our seat of 
justice and the changes which have culminated in the erection of 
this noble and fitting edifice. I am well aware that my friend and 
associate Justice Bergen, as a native and lifelong resident of this 
town and county and an authority on local history, is much better 
qualified than I to present the facts in an interesting way ; and no 
doubt he will have something to say on this subject. So I shall 
confine myself to sketching the outlines and leave it to him to fill 
in the details as he may be inclined. 

In New Jersey, as in Massachusetts and perhaps other States, 
a noticeable feature of the names of the older counties is their 
identity with those of similar subdivisions of England. So we 
have appropriated the name of Middlesex, wherein lies London; 
of Sussex, the county of the South Saxons, lying along the Eng- 
lish Channel, and where William the Conqueror landed on his 
invasion of England, and which very illogically, is the most north 
ern county of our State; while Cumberland, one of our southern- 
most counties, is named for one in England that marches with 
the Scottish line. Essex lies on the Thames River, and Mon- 
mouth, Gloucester and finally Somerset, all lie about the British 
Channel, facing the Atlantic ; so that though Eastern New Jersey 
was so largely settled by the Dutch (and Somerset not the least 
so), the only early counties with Dutch names are Bergen at one 
end of the State and Cape May at the other. 

Somerset was not created in the first important divisions 
of counties in 1682, but was carved out of Middlesex in 1688 and 
then began its official existence, during which its boundaries have 



Nolan & Swinton 



1 Liberty Street, New York 

1 2 West Main St. 
Somerville, N. J. 

611 JOHN PHONES 32.W 



experienced frequent changes, especially on the south and east. 
It originally included New Brunswick, then called Inian's Ferry, 
and Princeton. By changes in the lines New Brunswick went to 
Middlesex in 17 14; and as to Princeton the county line for many 
years ran through the middle of Nassau Street, its main street, 
giving to Middlesex the honor of holding both Rutgers and 
Princeton colleges within her borders until finally the creation of 
Mercer in 1838 sliced oiT the lower parts of both Middlesex and 
Somerset, and took Princeton with them; so that if Princeton 
College grounds are ever sold, the title will have to be searched 
in three counties. 

Some years elapsed after the setting off of Somerset from 
A^liddlesex, before the county organization was complete. The 
Middlesex courts at first did double duty, and as they were held 
at Perth Amboy, litigation must have been carried on by Somerset 
suitors at considerable inconvenience. In fact we cannot help 
wondering how it was carried on at all, with no telephones or 
telegraphs, no railroads or steamboats, no mails worthy the name, 
with few roads and those of a primitive character. Lawsuits 
must have been infrequent, for not until 171 4, a quarter of a cen- 
tury afterward, was an act passed authorizing the erection of a 
court house and jail in Somerset County. This building was 
erected at Six Mile Run, a hamlet now called Franklin Park, some 
five or six miles southwest of New Brunswick ; and according to 
Mr. Mellick's valuable and interesting book called the "Story of 
an Old Farm," its foundation is still visible. From data kindly 
furnished me by Judge Bergen and other sources of information, 
I learn that this building went the way of most of our early 
churches and public buildings, being destroyed by fire in 1737; 
and in 1739 an act was passed providing for another court house. 
That the referendum as a means of legislation is no new thing is 
shown by the fact that its location was determined by a popular 
election, and fixed at Hillsborough, now known as Millstone; and 
this edifice saw many of the stirring events of the Revolutionary 
War. In May, 1775, the Somerset Committee of Correspondence 
met in the court house and heartily agreed to arm and support 
such number of men as the authorities should order raised in Som- 
erset County. This we read in Lee's book on New Jersey as a 
Colony and a State. In the same volume we hear that Hills- 



O. J. BROWN 

REAL ESTATE 

OFFICE HALF BLOCK UP FROM DEPOT o^^/I^-n1/IfI^- xi i 

CORNER SOUTH AND DIVISION STREETS bUMhKVlLLh, IN. J. 

Parties taking the 8 A. M. train from foot of West 23d or Liberty Streets New York, need not make 
an appointment in advance 

OUR AGENCY IS WELL EQUIPPED TO SERVE YOU AS GUIDE to the very best bargains in 
Soinerset Co., whether you want a single lot, a farm, a country or village home, or a large acreage tract. 

Our list of property for sale is very large and is rich in bargains that will prove money makers, 

Our office the largest and best equipped in Somerville with three automobiles at your service and 
provided with everything necessary for transacting business in a modem up to date manner. 



CHARLES FRITTS Telephone Call 42-W MILTON J. STIRES 

FRITTS & STIRES 

Somerville Steam Laundry 

ESTABLISHED 1882 
173-177 W. Main Street - - SOMERVILLE, N. J. 

GREEN KNOLL DAIRY FARM PRODUCTS 

WILLIAM J. QUICK 

Dealer in 

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and Select Groceries 

No. 5 and 7 Division Street - - SOMERVILLE. N. J. 

STANDARD AUTO GARAGE 

167 WEST MAIN STREET 
SOMERVILLE, : ; : : NEW JERSEY 

REPAIRS OF ALL KINDS DONE WITH THE 
BEST OF MATERIAL AND WORKMANSHIP 
VULCANIZING AND RECOVERING OF TIRES 



borough was made the location of a market for wool, flax and 
articles relating to their manufacture — so as to aid local manu- 
facturers and thereby benefit the inland trade. Washington's 
army bivouacked around or near Millstone on the march from 
Princeton to Morristown in the early days of 1777. Here, in the 
late winter and early spring of that year, camped General Dickin- 
son with the Jersey militia, scouring the neighborhood and watch- 
ing the roads while Washington remained at Morristown; and 
as Somerset County lay directly between Washington's army and 
the main British line of communication across New Jersey, it was 
thick with our outposts. In June, 1777, Millstone witnessed some 
of the preliminary sparring between Howe and W^ashington, when 
the former unsuccessfully tried to draw the American army into a 
losing battle and free the way to Philadelphia from a menacing- 
danger on the flank. Notwithstanding the apparent activity of 
the opposing forces in this neighborhood. Millstone seems to have 
been considered by the State authorities as a fitting place for the 
sessions of the Supreme Court, for in September, 1777, it was 
designated as one of the seats of justice for the State, Burlington 
being the other, and the Supreme Court sitting in each alternately. 
In October, 1779, the Queen's Rangers, under Col. Simcoe, swept 
through on their famous raid, and that was the end of the Somer- 
set court house at Millstone, for they burned it, after releasing 
three Loyalist prisoners confined there. On their way to Mill- 
stone they had already burned the Dutch church at Van Vech- 
ten's Bridge, and Mr. Mellick remarks in his book: "Had Col. 
Simcoe magnanimously spared the Dutch meeting and the court 
house at Hillsborough, it is not impossible that to-day there would 
be no Somerville, or at least that that town would not now flour- 
ish as the county seat of Somerset. The people of Bridgewater 
Township, therefore, can at the present time reflect with equa- 
nimity upon the devastations perpetrated during this famous raid. 
But I may add that the people of the county at large may well re - 
gret that the destruction of the court house included all the 
records except the road book and some books of mortgages. With 
commendable thrift, the unburned materials, iron and brick, were 
collected next year by order of the Freeholders ; but whether they 
were used for the next court house I do not know. The records 
show, however, that the people decided to change the county seat 



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A. B. CLINE, Somerville, N. J. 

Plumber and Gas Fitter 

Warm Air and Hot Water Heating 



A, H. NEISNER 

THE OLD RELIABLE 

5 AND 10 CENT STORE 



71 WEST MAIN STREET 
SOMERVILLE, ... N. J. 



W. H. MOREHEAD 

Stationery, Sporting Goods 

Musical Instruments 

Victor and Edison Phonographs 

Pictures and Picture Framing 



141 MAIN ST. SOMERVILLE 



Just a Word 

If you've got something Big 
in the Printing Line you natu- 
rally want an Experienced 
Man to handle it. Doesn't 
make a particle of difference 
whether it embraces Design- 
ing, Illustrating, Compiling 
or Editing, I am always look- 
ing for business and won't 
dodge. 

BEDFORD CODRINGTON 

WITH NATION PRESS 

20 Vesey Street New York City 



Caution : — Give your local printer the work his 
facilities enable him to handle satisfactorily. 
I'm after the business he can't do — and I'm 
getting it. 



to a place then called Tunison's Tavern, at Raritan, and the coun 
ty and the local church in 1782 clubbed together to build a build- 
ing to be used for both a church and a court house, a noteworthy 
precedent for the arrangement which has been in force during the 
building operations just completed. The plan did not work well, 
and in 1787 the county bought out the church and became sole 
proprietor of the building, which, as I understand it, stood on or 
about the site of the Somerset Hotel at the next corner. It did 
not remain long as a court house, for in 1798 a new brick court 
house and jail were resolved on and erected on the present site 
This building, practically rebuilt in 1849, was torn down to make 
room for that in which we are now gathered. 

Such, in brief, is the history of the county buildings, keeping- 
pace with the gradual development of the county itself. There 
has been no boom, but the growth of Somerset has been that 
of a normal agricultural county with no extraordinary natural 
resources. We read in "Smith's History of New Jersey," pub- 
lished in 1765, of a copper mine under the Raritan, at New Bruns- 
wick, and other mines at Rocky Hill, which with still others near 
Somerville, are mentioned, as we shall see, in later descriptions 
of the county; but whatever dreams of mineral wealth may have 
existed in the old days have so far not been realized, and the 
steady and moderate growth of the county is best indicated by the 
figures of population, which was from ten to thirteen thousand in 
1790; 17,000 in 1830; 21,000 in 1855; 24,000 in 1870; 28,000 in 
1890; 33,000 in 1900, and 36,000 in 1905, doubling in 75 years. 
A glance at Somerville in 1834, as depicted in a gazetteer and his- 
tory of New Jersey, published in that year, may be of interest. 
'Tt lies upon a high well cultivated plain of red shale, about two 
miles south of a ridge of the South Mountains; in which are some 
noted copper mines. It contains a Dutch Reformed Church, a 
Methodist meeting, an academy where the classics and mathe- 
matics are taught, a boarding school for young ladies, three tav- 
erns well kept, and seven stores, one large grist mill, five prac- 
ticing attorneys, four physicians, and one resident clergyman, 600 
inhabitants and about 100 dwellings. The court house and other 
public buildings are large and commodious."* 

* Synopsis of an address delix ered by Mr. Justice Parker at dedication of Somerset County's new 
court house at Somerville, April 4, IVhi. 



OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN THE COUNTY. ESTABLISHED OCTOBER, 1822 

^ift ^omerget jHeggenger 

(Democratic in Politics) 

An Official Newspaper for the State and County. Terms: 
One Dollar per annum when paid in advance 

J. H. MATTISON, Publisher since 1881 

P. O. Drawer B, Somerville, N. J. 



PHONE 30-L 



JOHN ENK 



INSURANGE and REAL ESTATE 

Fire^ Life and oHccident Insurance 

Second National Bank Building 
Cor. Main and Bridge Streets - SOMERVILLE, N. J. 

C. SCHWED & CO. 

Clotljtersf anb iHercfjant bailors 

The finest goods in the market. The largest assortment. 
The lowest prices. Ready made or made-to-order. All 
varieties of Gents' Furnishings. Agency for Stet- 
son and Young Hats. Everything for Boys' 
Wear. The oldest established business 
house in SOMEHVILLE, X. J. 



F. W. WOOLWORTH & CO. 

5 AND 10 CENT STORE 

THOMAS BUILDING - - - SOMERVILLE, N. J. 

VERY BEST VALUES 

REASON : — We started in 1879 and now have 230 Stores in the United States. 



AN IMPARTIAL IMPRESSION 

NEW YORK HERALD 

WITH a gradual development of its industries during the 
last ten years and a realty boom that is gaining in 
strength every season, Somerville finds itself to-day one of the 
most favored communities in New Jersey among residents of New 
York and other cities who are seeking new business locations or 
home sites. Many natural advantages, with indications of pro- 
gress on every side, insure a bright future for the town. In the 
development of the community, the Somerville Board of Trade 
has played an important part. That organization was formed 
about ten years ago and has since been actively employed in ad- 
vancing the industrial and other interests of the place. 

Still retaining many of the traditions and associations of a 
rural comnumity two centuries old, and at the same time present- 
ing all the appearance of a modern, bustling little Western city, 
Somerville is unique among the communities of New Jersey. In 
the first place, Somerville has an ideal location. It lies in the pic- 
turesque Raritan Valley, yet on a knoll that insures natural drain- 
age in all directions. On one side the Raritan River picks a tor- 
tuous path through woods and fields on its way to the sea. Back 
of the town the continuation of the Watchung Mountains looms 
up against the sky. 

Somerville is the county seat of Somerset County, ^vhich 
from the time it was first settled by white men has been a farm- 
ing country. Larger cities, like Trenton. New Brunswick and 
Plainfield, are far enough from Somerville to make the latter thor- 
oughly independent from a business and political standpoint. 
For that reason it has become a county metropolis in every sense 
of the word. It is seldom that residents feel the need of visiting 
New York or any of the large New Jersey cities to do their shop- 
ping. Main Street is lined on both sides for several blocks with 
large up-to-date stores of all kinds. This business section is not- 
able for its attractive buildings, and the excellent and varied 
stock carried by the merchants. 

But Somerville's fine buildings are by no means confined to 
the business centre. The town abounds in high class architecture. 



Star Somerset Range 




^ 910.00 Saved 



WE came here to stay, and can save you $10 on every 
Range you buy from us. All Stoves guaranteed 
to bake. Full line carried in our show rooms. Come and 
see them before you buy elsewhere. Free Delivery. 



Somerville Stove Works 

Office and Show Rooms at the Works 

^, , ,, Somerville, N J. 

Telephone 1-J ' «r 



The most notable structure lo-da}- is the new white niarl)le county 
Court House, w^hich is now complete. The total cost, complete, 
is considerably more than $300,000. In other ])arts of the town 
may be found fine churches, schools and other public edifices. Tt 
is also said that Somerville has more attractive residences in pro- 
portion to its population than a large majority of towns in the 
State. 

The attractiveness of all Somerville's building-s, whether pub- 
lic or private, is enhanced by the beautiful shade trees that line 
every street. Somerville's trees are as noted as the magnificent 
elms of New Haven. Another feature is that practically all of the 
dwelling houses are surrounded by sufficient grounds to afford 
ereen lawns with shrubberv and flowers in front and on the sides, 
and thereby to permit plenty of light and air to find their way 
into the rooms. Many of the more pretentious structures are sur- 
rounded l)y large gardens. 

It is not to be w^ondered at that there is a continual demand 
for houses that cannot be supplied. During the last year, at least 
twenty new dwellings have been erected, yet the real estate dealers 
declare they could ha\'e rented or sold at least twice that num- 
ber. Almost all of the houses now in course of construction have 
been engaged, and plans for man}' more to be built in the spring 
are being prepared. 

Dozens of persons have come from the cities to locate on the 
outskirts of Somerville. Picturesque scenery, fine macadam 
roads and fertile land have proved an attraction to both those who 
have tired of city life and wish to live in the real country and 
those who want to farm in a small way. There are many large 
and small tracts suitable for both purposes. To some of those 
who have turned from the city the quaint old farm houses appeal 
as no other form of habitation can, while persons whose tastes are 
not quite so bucolic find ideal sites on the hillsides on which to 
build modern homes. 

James B. Duke, of the American Tobacco Company, was the 
first to discover and appreciate the beauties of Somerset County, 
especially near Somerville, as a place of residence. About fifteen 
years ago Mr. Duke purchased the old Veghte farm of 150 acres. 
He has added to that property until now he has an estate of more 
than two thousand acres. 



TELEPHONE CONNECTIONS 



SMITH-SCHOONMAKER CO. 



DEALERS IN 



Coal, Lumber, Doors, Windows, Blinds 

Mill W^ork, Picture and Window 

Glass, Mason's Materials, Terra 

Cotta and Drain Pipe 

Building Paper 

Agents in Somerset County^ for Caret's Magnesia 
Flexible Cement Roofing 

SOMERVILLE, N. J. 



WM. H. H. WYCKOFF COMPANY 



cyVlERCHANT MILLERS 




Proprietors of Wyckoflf's 
Mills, Dealers in 

Roller 

Process; 

Flour 

Feed, Meal 

Hay, Etc. 

Highest Cash Prices 

Paid for All Kinds 

of Grain 

MIDDAGH STREET 

Somerville 
N.J. 

Telephone 103 



It is credited by persons who have seen it, with being the 
finest private park in the United States. There Mr. Duke has 
built a g-reat mansion surrounded by Itahan gardens, lakes, 
groves and every other desirable feature connected with land- 
scape architecture. Statuary has been imported from Italy and 
rare shrubs and flowers have been brought from all parts of the 
world. Millions of dollars have been spent in the development of 
this estate. The barn alone cost $90,000, while Mr. Duke has 
erected for his employees ten or twelve dwelling houses, some of 
which cost $8,000 each. 

Mr. Duke not only takes great pleasure in the fine park he 
has established, but he wants the public in general and the resi- 
dents of Somerville in particular to enjoy it. Visitors are not 
only privileged to drive or walk through the grounds, but at Mr. 
Duke's direction they are made welcome by the employees who 
point out objects of interest and convey any information neces- 
sary. 

Next to the Duke place in size is the stock farm ("Ardmaer") 
of William Bradley, prominent contractor, politician and horse 
owner, of New ^"ork city. A year or two ago Mr. Bradley began 
to buy up small farms near Somerville until he had acquired about 
twelve, aggregating one thousand acres. Mr. Bradley has beauti- 
fied his place, built a private race track for training purposes, and 
breeds thoroughbred horses. 

Although Somerville had long been the political and social 
centre of Somerset County, it had few large industrial estab- 
lishments up to ten years ago. About that time most of the lead- 
ing merchants came to the conclusion that from practically every 
standpoint the town would be benefited by the establishment of 
manufacturing industries. For that reason it was decided to 
form a Board of Trade, which has ever since been accomplishing 
excellent results. The board was first instrumental in bringing to 
Somerville a shirt manufacturing company. The latter engaged 
successfully in business, Init later sold out to the Commercial 
Shirt Company of New York, which moved the plant to Raritan, 
adjoining Somerville. Five years ago the Board of Trade gave 
the land and erected a plant for the New York Agricultural Com- 
pany, which made agricultural implements. That concern failed 
the following year, and the plant was bought by Benjamin Liss- 



Subscription price 
$1.00 per year 



ALL THE NEWS IN 

tEfje ^omersiet democrat 

The Paper EveiyboJn ReaJs 



Advertising rates 
on application 



Issued every Friday morning by the 

SOMERVILLE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

(The only Day and Night Print Shop in Somerset County) 

Prinlers of Books, Magazines, Catalogs, and all Commercial work. Special facilities for Law Printing. 
Linotype composition on short notice. 

SOMERVILLE PUBLISHING CO., 

E. M. WIGHT. PrDp. C. P. HOAGLAND, Manager, 

New York Office, 280 Broadway, Somerville Office and Plant. 99 & 101 W. Main St. 

New York: 3585 Worth-TELEPHONES-SomerviUe : 41 R. 



Garretson Automobile & Cycle Co. 

Dealers in 

Automobiles and Bicycles 



Cameras and 
Photographic Supplies 



Automobile and Bicycle 
Repairing a Specialty 



Somerville, New Jersey 



J. W. BEAVERS 

SHOEMAN TO MEN AND WOMEN 

OF SOMERSET COUNTY 

IS SOLE AGENT 

For the celebrated Walk-Over Shoe for Men $3.50, $4.00, $5.00 
And the faultless-fitting Dorothy Dodd Shoe for Women $2.50 to $4,00 

also 

The Famous Holeproof Hosiery for Men, Women and Children 
66 MAIN STREET NEAR POST office SOMERVILLE, N. J. 



"A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever" 

Let us Convince you 
That's Why Our that Our Work Is 

Photos Are ^^f'- Come in and 

look at some of it. 

Appreciated others are pleased. 

We Avill please you. 



C. S. GERNERPS STUDIO 

32 West Main St., SOMERVILLE, N. J. 



G. H. MUNDY 

DEALER IN 

Groceries and Provisions 

Teas and Coffees 
a Specialty 

76 SOUTH BRIDGE STREET 

SOMERVILLE, :N^. J. 



berger, who established the Somerville Iron Works for the manu- 
facture of soil pipes. Since then the plant has been doubled in 
size and employs about two hundred and fifty hands. It ships soil 
pipe to the Western States, the Hawaiian Islands and South 
America. During the financial stringency of the last year the 
company operated its plant at full time, without any reduction of 
wages and without laying off any of its men. It has never ex- 
perienced any labor troubles. 

Another plant brought to Somerville through the efforts of 
the Board of Trade was the Carbon Stove Works, owned by 
Michael Baum. The factory was built by the company on land 
donated by the Board of Trade, adjoining the iron plant. The 
Carbon Stove Works has also doubled its capacity since it came 
to Somerville and now employs nearly seventy-five hands. The 
Glen Rock Woollen Company located in Somerville about three 
years ago. Prior to the formation of the Board of Trade there 
was only one concern in Somerville that employed a large force. 
That was the Somerville Woollen Mills, with property valued at 
$500,000, and employing four hundred hands. That plant has 
been closed for the last year, but it is said operations may be re- 
sumed soon under a reorganization of the company. W. H. H. 
Wyckofif & Sons, who have a large grain elevator and mills, have 
been engaged in the flour and feed business in Somerville for 
many years. 

Next door to Somerville is Raritan, and from all appearance 
a stranger would take them for the same town. Many persons 
who are employed or engaged in business in Somerville live in 
Raritan, while many who are occupied during the day in Raritan 
reside in Somerville. For these reasons the county seat shares 
some of the advantages resulting from industrial establishments 
that are located within the boundaries of its neighbor. Among 
the plants in Raritan are the Somerville Manufacturing Com- 
pany, which employs six hundred hands; the Raritan Woollen 
Company, which employs one thousand hands ; the Commercial 
Shirt Company, fifty hands ; D. R. Kenyon & Son, manufacturers 
of woollen machinery, fifty hands; the Raritan Creamery Com- 
pany, which operates several wagons in Somerville and which 
ships its products to New York and other places. 



After the iron works had been erected, there were not enough 
houses in Somerville for the men employed in that plant. A 
realty company with which several members of the Board of 
Trade were identified, erected a number of dwellings within easy 
walking distance of the works. 

Several improvements are now being planned in Somerville. 
One is the repaving of Main Street, the principal business thor- 
oughfare. Main Street is now paved with macadam, as are all 
the other streets in the town, with two or three exceptions. The 
new pavement will be brick j^locks, or something else that may 
be considered just as serviceable. The Somerville Water Com- 
pany has now under advisement the placing of new thirty-six 
inch mains through the town. This will afiford a better water 
supply and increase the pressure for fire fighting purposes. The 
repaving of Main Street will not be done until the water company 
has completed the work of laying new mains. Somerville's water 
supply is obtained from the Raritan River above all points of pol- 
lution by sewage. To safeguard against contamination of any 
kind, however, the water is filtered. The institution of large 
mains, as proposed by the company, will extend the supply con- 
siderably beyond the town limits, which will be of great benefit to 
those living on the outskirts. 

In other respects Somerville also has modern improvements. 
The residents enjoy the use of both gas and electricity, while the 
latter is employed for street lighting. There is an excellent sew- 
erage system and general sanitary laws are rigidly enforced. The 
volunteer fire department consists of four companies, which own 
the horses used, while the apparatus is furnished by the town. 
The Gamewell electric fire alarm system is employed and every 
other feature of the department is up to date. The drivers are 
paid and are on duty day and night. The town has an adequate 
police department, in w4iich there are five uniformed and three 
special men. 

Residents of Somerville have excellent school facilities, there 
being a high school with a four year course that prepares for col- 



S. Scheuer & Sons '"*"' "'"'' ~" ™ ''"" ''"^ 

^* ^^mm^M%.m ^^ k^vm««/ Established 1860 

9*1 Main St * 

IfD main Ol. ^ Headquarters 92-94 Park Place 

Somerville, N. J. Newark, N. J. 



lege and two schools for the lower grades. All three schools are 
in modern brick buildings. There are more than one thousand 
pupils. Somerville has a hospital, which has recently been en- 
larged and which has an ambulance service; a public library, 
which occupies an attractive edifice erected about ten years ago; 
two national banks, a savings bank and two building and loan as- 
sociations. There are churches of all the principal denominations 
and the leading secret societies are represented by lodges in the 
town. 

Located on the Central Railroad, Somerville is thirty-six 
miles from New York. There are fifty trains a day, the fastest 
of them making the distance in a trifle more than an hour. The 
town is connected by trolley with Trenton, New Brunswick, Eliz- 
abeth, Newark and other North Jersey cities and New York. 
There are several good hotels in Somerville. 



POSTAL CONVENIENCES 

By JOHN G. GASTON 

SOMERVILLE for a place of its size, has exceptional postal 
facilities. The post office is centrally located in the new and 
commodious Gaston Building on the main street of the Borough, 
and is kept open from 6:15 A. M. until 7 o'clock P. M. and is well 
equipped with all modern appliances, such as cancelling machines, 
combination lock boxes, etc., and is up to date in every respect. 
A competent and obliging force of clerks is in charge of the Gen- 
eral Delivery and the Mailing, Registry, and Money Order Divi- 
sions. There is also a city and rural carrier service, and the de- 
liveries are so arranged that the principal mails are in the hands 
of the patrons in a very short time after their arrival at the ofiice. 
The dispatching service is also excellent, mails leaving nearly 
every hour in the day for every city and country in the world. Som- 
erville being in the heart of a prosperous farming district, special 
attention has l)een paid to bringing the rural delivery to a high 
state of efficiency, but this has been done without impairing in 
any sense the town carrier system which is conceded bv those who 
are qualified to judge to be one of the best in the entire state of 
New Jersev. 



J. T. STRYKKR 

DEALER IN 

GROCERIES AND PROVISIONS 


30 WEST MAIN STREET 
SOMERVILLE, NEW JERSEY 


Get it at Crons 


HOI EL CAWLEY 

AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN PLANS 

GUSTAV WINTER, Prop. 


THE UP TO DATE DRUGGIST 


38 W. MAIN STREET 
SOMERVILLE. NEW JERSEY 


SOMERVILLE, - N. J. 


Gunzelman and Cramer 


H. K. STREETER 


Contractors 
and Builders 

Somerville, N. J. 

Telephone 218J 

Shop: 29 Warren St., opp. Court House 


PAINTER AND DECORATOR 


Dealer in 
PAINTS, OILS, ETC. 

189 W. Main St., Somerville, N.J. 

Telephone 136-J 


O T T D A I lU ^° retain your business by prompt service and 

To give you value received by good goods and reasonable 
prices. 

We gfive you at a medium price the very best your money can buy in 
that grade. A special part of our business is the Bedding Department. 

A share of your business is solicited and we guarantee satisfaction 

Discount for Cash All Goods Delivered 
WM. E. MAXWELL, 63 W. Main St., SOMERVILLE, N. J. 



HISTORY AND ROMANCE OF 
OLD SOMERSET 

By GEORGE QUARRIE 

IN his time George Van Nest, or "Prince George," as he was 
commonly called, was unquestionably one of the most pic- 
turesque figures of Somerset County. Born in 1736, he was the 
son of Peter Van Nest, after whom Peter's Brook, near Plucka- 
min, was named. He was also a great-grandfather of the Rev. 
Dr. Talmage. Peter's father, also named Peter, was the orig- 
inal, or pioneer. Van Nest in America. He emigrated to this 
country from the Netherlands in 1647 ^^^ lived in Brooklyn, 
N. Y. Peter Van Nest, the second in America, was the first of 
the family in New Jersey. He owned a large tract of fertile land 
along the north branch of the Raritan River, between the village 
of North Branch and Somerville, and in time his estate was por- 
tioned oft" among his sons, whom he left all well to do. George, es- 
pecially, lived so sumptuously, dispensed such a royal hospitality 
and moved at all times with so much pomp and dignity, that noth- 
ing short of the title of prince seemed to fit him. Naturally, it rose 
to people's lips in speaking of him. When he went out driving, 
one of his many slaves in high hat and stiff "choker," held the 
reins ; another in equally correct garb sat by the driver with fold- 
ed arms, bolt upright, ready at all times to get down and open 
gates, brush of¥ stinging flies from the horses, or clear away any 
obstruction, alive or dead, from their path. Alongside the lordly 
master himself sat his little darky page, who always followed 
close at his master's heels at home or abroad, ready to fill his pipe, 
hold his greatcoat and cane, open and close doors and perform 
the thousand little offices of personally and obsequiously waiting 
upon him. "Prince George's" picture hangs in the fine old home- 
stead of his great-grandson, Henry Van Nest Garretson, near 
North Branch, where a number of Talmage's youthful years were 
spent, and where the old-time upper and lower half doors are 
still to be seen. Over the latter of these the doctor (Talmage) 
used to swing when a little boy and look longingly down the road 
for the return of his parents from church. At the height of his 
fame the great preacher delighted in going over this and other 



D. R. KENYON & SON 



Manufacturers of 



Textile Finishing 
Machinery 



RARITAN, N. J. 



PHILIP CASE ca, SON 

SOMERVILLE, N. J. 

Dry Goods, Millinery, Outer Garments 

Corsets Laces Notions Dress Goods 

Hosiery Embroideries Neckwear Bed Coverings 

Silks Upholstery Underwear Ribbons 

Veilings Linens Domestics 

A Modern Retail Store 



Carrying at all times a most complete and up-to-date stock of merchandise 
Catering in an intelligent manner to the needs of the public 
Endeavoring to do the right thing, at the right time, in the right way 
Selling only trustworthy goods, giving honest value and honest service 



Photos bp Geo. Benbrook, Soiiicrville 

Wallace House ( IVashingion 's Headquarters) 



TERMS CASH 



•PHONE 30-L 



S. B. VAN NESS 



Dealer in 



Lehigh - Jeddo Coal 

2nd National Bank Buildinp; 



YARD: SOUTH SOMERVILLE, N.J. 



Loans Negotiated Estates Managed 

Rents Collected 

D. N. MESSLER 

Real Estate Broker 

SUBURBAN PROPERTY 
A SPECIALTY 

178 WEST MAIN STREET 

SOMERVILLE, N. J. 



The Hillsborough Mutual 
Fire Assurance Association 

of Somerset County 

ORGANIZED MARCH 4th, 1844 

M. W. SCULLY, Secretary 

Also Agent for London and Lancashire Insurance 
Co., Liverpool, England, and Seva of Gothenberg, 
Sweden. 



A. V. Saroeant 



S. S. Sargeant 



SARGEANT BROS. 

Dealers in 

LUMBER, COAL, MASONS' 
MATERIALS 

Also Manufactureis of 

SASH, DOORS, BLINDS and all 
MILL WORK 

Main Street, Somerville, N. J. 



Telephone 39 J 

MILTON LABAW 

HARDWARE, HOUSE FURNISHINGS, STOVES, RANGES, 

PLOWS AND FARM IMPLEMENTS 

LUCAS PAINTS 

81 W. MAIN STREET - - - SOMERVILLE, N. J. 



JOS. W. CAIN 



Telephone 40-W 



JUDSON V. CAIN 



WM. N. ADAIR & CO. 

JOS. W. CAIN & SON, Proprietors 

Manufacturers of and Dealers in 

SNOW FLAKE — HERCULES FLOUR 

GRAIN, FLOUR, FEED, BRAN, SHORTS, ETC. . 
The Highest Marke; Price Paid for all Kinds of Grain at the Raritan Mills 

RARITAN, NEW JERSEY 



familiar scenes of his early youth, in company with friends from 
the great cities. 

Any one who knew Dr. Talmage, and who looks at the por- 
trait of "Prince George" can hardly fail to see a striking likeness 
between the two. The doctor was taller and his countenance 
showed greater mentality, but in his great-grandfather's face in 
the picture the same strong lines of intellectual individuality and 
force are plainly discernible. With all his magnificence, "Prince" 
George fell an easy victim to the charms of Catherine Williamson, 
an attractive young woman who lived with her parents in Seneca 
County, N. Y. His parents had taken him there on a visit when 
he was a mere lad, and he and Catherine played together with oth- 
er children. Young as he w^as, however, George was deeply im- 
pressed with his playmate, and more than once he told her with 
what must have been comical gravity that he considered her a 
very nice girl and that when he was big enoueh he would come all 
the way from Jersey on a prancing steed to get her for his wife. 
"And," said he one day, "I'll bring a fine horse and a side saddle 
for you, so that you can ride back with me." Catherine was then 
swinging on the garden gate. She stopped her swinging to listen 
and stood demurely looking at her little cavalier. Suddenly her 
mother burst out laughing just behind her : 

"Oh, for goodness sake," the mother cried, "look at George 
and Cattie sweethearting!" 

Instantly and without a word Catherine hit George a sting- 
ing smack on his cheek and ran into the house crying. That was 
the last George and Catherine saw of each other for more than 
ten years. But George had not forgotten her. When next thev 
met his face was protected by a beard, and the red marks of 
Catherine's fingers seemed to have been transferred to her own 
cheeks. The chubby little boy was now transfigured into the 
handsome rich and regal-looking "Prince George," The girl had 
become a charming woman. This time she did not smite him 
upon the cheek, although he had the temerity to repeat the very 
same proposal that he made to her that other time, when she, in a 
dimity pinafore, was swinging on the garden gate. It is freely 
admitted that her mother did not make fun of her on this occa- 
sion. As a result of the talk that the couple had on this occasion 
"Prince George" rode away to his Jersey home as happy as a 



TEN EYCK HOUSE 

/. ROSS LAKE, Prop. 
The Leading Hotel in 

SOMERVILLE, N. J. 

In the heart of the business district 


WALDORF HOTEL 


L. ROLLER, "Proprietor 


No. 1 29 West Main Street 
•Phone 101-w SOMERVILLE, N. J. 


JACOB MILLER 

Dealer in 

Foreign and Domestic Wines 

Choice Liquors, Ales 

Beers & Porters 

For Family Use 

No. 140 West Main Street 
SOMERVILLE, N. J. 

Telephone No. 133-L 


HENRY REIMER 

Real Estate Broker and Builder 
SOMERVILLE, N. J. 

Office: No. 5 W. Main St. Resid nee: 129 E. Main St. 


I will sell your farms, houses aud lots, 
Money to Loan, and Acre plots, 

If you buy of me. 
The Title I will Guarantee. 


MEN'S YOUTHS' SUITS 

AND OVERCOATS 

MADE TO ORDER 

$10.00 to $18.00 
Clothing Made to Order 

GLEN ROCK WOOLEN CO. 

SOMERVILLE, N. J. 


r^EALERS can say what they please 
'-^ about a shoe but the truth will out 
when the shoe is worn. Therefore, we 
ask that you wear a pair of our 

Douglas, Sorosis or Supreme Shoes 

for the truth you learn from them will 
bring you back for another pair. 

THOS. COHEN, The Shoe Man 

Main & Division Sts. 

SOMERVILLE, N. J. 


1.. M. codin(;tox 


c. w. ]?owma:n 

(With Tiffany & Co. S Years) 

Jeweler- Optician 

^Watch Inspector for 6. R. R. of N. J. 

10 W. MAIX ST. 
SOMERVILLE, X. J. 

Phone 32-R 


INSURANeE 
51 WEST MAIX ST. 

SOMERVIJ.LK, N. J. 
Oldest Agency in the County 



lark. He had Catherine's permission to brino- her that horse and 
side saddle, and in his heart he knew that she would return with 
him as his wife. Early in the following- summer — that eventful 
summer of 1765, just when the news was permeating the indig- 
nant colonies that the British Parliament had passed the stamp 
act — "Prince George" appeared at her home once more, and they 
were duh^ married. Catherine, an expert horsewoman, vaulted 
to the back of the shining and fiery bay mare which George had 
brought to her, and dashed out over the meadows for a prelimin- 
ary- or trial spin. There were ejaculations of wonder and fear 
from the town-bred visitors for Catherine's safety. After a num- 
ber of evolutions and sprints, with the mare under perfect control, 
she rode back at a canter, patting and stroking the arched neck 
of her mount. Then, reining the horse, the }-oung woman jumped 
to the ground. 

"George!" she cried to her husband, "I'd follow you on that 
mare around the world! She's my queen! And the saddle like 
herself, is second to none. It is the blue ribbon of perfection !" 

The long wedding march from the young bride's home in 
Xew York was commenced immediately and continued daily until 
the travelers finally reached their home, within about a mile of 
Pluckamin. The only roads to follow^ were bridle paths or Indian 
trails. As the Indians were then plentiful, and in an ugly mood, 
the "Prince's" escort of four mounted and armed blacks in ad- 
vance and four following his wife and himself and their two 
pages, was no more than the case called for. The red men had 
been growing more and more dangerous since the termination of 
the French \\\ar in 1760, until in 1763 that able and warlike chief. 
Pontiac, arose and fell upon the English in the Northwest, cap- 
turing all their posts w^est of Oswego, Niagara, Fort Pitt and De- 
troit. Following the tremendous prestige and daring this gave 
them, the Indians were scouring the country in bands far and 
wide, plundering, murdering and burning all before them, deter- 
mined, as they said, to exterminate the white . grovelers, who were 
increasing and multiplying so alarmingly. 

If the wedding party had delayed setting out just one day 
longer, in all likelihood it would never have reached the "Prince's" 
home, but would have perished as so many other parties did in 
those perilous times, leaving no record behind of what had be- 



To the Home-seeker, Greeting: 



n^HE Board of Trade of Somerville be- 
-*- lieves there is no other community in 
New Jersey that can equal Somerville, all 
things considered. It is a clean, progres- 
sive and modern community, whose aim is 
to invite the outsider and not to exclude the 
insider. The streets are clean, paved and 
well shaded; the religious side of life is 
firmly assured; the educational and social 
opportunities are of the best; commerce is 
fully recognized; residential and industrial 
life do not conflict, the segregation being 
natural and not artificial. 

Somerville also possesses all the modern 
conveniences and just sufficient of the old 
to mellow and ripen the new era. 

Therefore, Mr. Homeseeker, the Board 
of Trade and citizens of Somerville respect- 
fully invite you to make your home in their 
midst, feeling assured you'll never regret 
having done so. 



Board of Trade, Somerville, New Jersey 

Trustees of Board of Trade : 

PHILIP CASE, Pres. JAS. Q. TEN EYCK, Vice Pres. 

SELAH SCHOONMAKER, Sec. JOHN ENK, Treas. 

C. P. HOAGLAND, W. D. NOLAN, J. S. FRELINGHUYSEN 

W. J. KIRBY, HENRY REIMER, JOHN MAXWELL 

A copy of this book may be secured by applying to Board of Trade 



fallen them. As it was, at the end of their first day's ride, 
"Prince George" and his fellow travelers put up for the night at 
a little settlement village called Painted Post. Thev left there 
the next morning at daybreak, continuing their journev by forced 
marches along the Susquehanna River and through Pennsylvania. 
It was well for them that they did so, for they just escaped a des- 
perate gang of more than fifty savages, who the very next night 
surrounded Painted Post, killed every white person thev could 
find and burned the place to the ground. Fortunately, "Prince 
George" and Catherine's honeymoon in the saddle ended propiti- 
ously and all arrived at the old homestead in safety. If, as so 
nearly happened, it had been otherwise, the whole Christian world 
would have been the loser, for it would never have known T. 
DeWitt Talmage. 



TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES 

ONE remarkable fact connected with the Central Railroad of 
New Jersey is the cordial sentiment existing between the 
company and the traveling public. In every community along 
its lines an active bond of fellowship prevails. In plain words, 
these people swear by it, and the company cherishes and con- 
sistently endeavors in all ways to perpetuate this co-operation 
To fully anticipate the depth of this cordial sentiment one has 
to become a patron of this corporation and the reason will 
not long remain unrevealed. A gentleman on being requested 
to give his views on this matter laconically answered: "Well, 
the road is clean." He put emphasis upon the word clean. 
And after all that is the story in a nutshell. 

Somerville being situated on the main line the train service is verv good. From 
Liberty Street, New York, trains leave at (A. M.) : 4:00, 6:00, 6:30, y'ws, 8:15, 9:10, 
10:00. 12:00. (P. M.) : 12:45, 1:10, 2:00, 3:00, 3:45, 4:00, 4:35, 5:00 (express) 5:00 
(local), 5:10, 5:30, 5:45, 6:15, 6:30, 7:00, 8:30, 9:15. 10:30. (A. M.) : 12:01. 

Somerville for New York— (A. M.) : 5:35. 6:00, 6:30, 6:55, 7:13, 7:24 (express), 
7:43 (express), 7:43 (local), 8:17 (express), 9:07, 9:40 (express), 10:04, 10:30, 
11:34 (express), 11:37. (P- M.) : 1:09, 2:14, 2:20, 3:26, 4:20, 5:28, 6:ir, 6:22, 
7 :io, 9:21, II :o5. 

Sundays — New York (Liberty Street) to Somerville — {.\. M.) : 4:30, 7:30. 10:00, 
12:00. (P. M.) : 1:00, 2:30, 4:30, 5:00, 5:30, 6:00. 7:30. 10:00, 

Somerville to New York — (A. M.) : y -.2,2, 8:24, 9:23. 11:34, 12:15. (P. M.) : 
1:15 (express), 1:18 (local), 1:51, 3:00, 5:15, 6:23, 7:47, 8:ii, 10:11. 

The above refers to schedule in efifect September 9, 1909. The 
reader, of course, understands this is liable to changes. The 
Central also operates a branch to Flemington from Somerville. 



^^^ 18 wm 



froPY on -TO CAT DIV. 

I\J n \ / -il f-^ t n /> n 



FARMS FOR SALE 

At Farmer Prices by the 

Osgoodby Farm Agency (^tepl^) Somerville, N. J 



ALL STOCKKD FARM, near SomervlIIe, 75 
•» ncros ; exciMlont nine room house, elegant 
outbnildings ; owned anil moilernlzeil by New 
Yorker whose business takes him South; will 
Inchule fine team horses, cows, pigs, 200 clilckens, 
ducks, geese, pigeons, hay, corn, everything on 
place except furniture; $8,400, half cash, bal- 
ance five per cent. 

A TOWN MANSION, 6 acres, cost $30,000, sell 
for $12,000, magnificent country estate, 
right iu town, 15 room mansion, hard wood 
floors, gas, electric light, bath, steam heat; 
grand old shade, beautiful lawn, abundance de- 
licious fruits, apples, peaches, pears, plums, var- 
iety of grapes, large vegetable garden, asparagus 
bod, celery ; carriage house, horse stable, hen- 
nery, &e. ; overlooking Duke's Park: five minutes 
to depot: 50 trains daily; cost $30,000; widowed 
owner going to California sacrifices for $12,000, 
half cash If so'd at once. 

A DANDY CHICKEN FARM, could be made 
'^ out of this 30 acres, stone house,; 300 fine 
peach trees ; running stream ; price $2,000, terms. 

A 120 ACRE FARM, Vj mile commuting depot; 
•'• 13 room brick house, outbuildings, all best 
condition, abundance all kinds of fruit, two good 
streams water, windmill supplies water through 
house and outbuildings ; 3 acres woodland ; price 
.$0,500. 

BEST FARM AROUND SOMERVILLE 

MINETY ACRES, excellent Colonial house, 12 
^^ rooms surrounded by grand old shade and 
large fruit trees; one mile depot, hour N. Y., 
fine train service; rich soil in highest state of 
cultivation: large productive vegetable garden. 
Including one acre delicious asparagus, every var- 
iety of fruit; excellent barns and outbuildings- 
property is owned by estate which must be closed 
and will he sacr'ficed for $10,000, worth $18,- 
000 : this is an exceptional opportunity to get 
the best farm around Somerville at sacrificed 
price, only account death of aged owner. 

A COMMUTERS FIVE ACRES 

D EAUTIFUL new modern house, eight rooms. 
" bath, hot and cold water, heat; best macad- 
am road; several fruit trees; desirable location; 
good neighbors, near school and depot ; large 
stable, cement floor, built for owner's use; 
change of business requires immediate sale ; only 
■'<4 500 ; terms to suit; we have personally in- 
spected this property and another 10 acre property 
at tlie same price and urgently recommend them. 

AN IDEAL CHICKEN FARM 

pARM. 37 M; acres, main line Pennsylvania R. 
*^ R. ; hour N. Y., 21/2 story house, slate roof, 
elglit rooms, decorated; water in house; running 
brook and shade; 50 fruit trees, large barn, out- 
buildings; no repairs necessary: high elevation, 
near neighbors, schools, churches; one mile vil- 
lage ; buildings insured $3,000 ; taxes last year 
$25; owner Includes two ^od farm horses, cows, 
chickens, wagons, buggies, mowing machines, 
plow, cultivator, harrow, hay rake, harnesses, 
feed cutter, lawn mower, 100 bushels wheat. 
1,000 bushels corn, hay, feed, &c. ; this would 
make an ideal chicken farm ; land slopes gently 
toward south, $4,S00. 

TOWN RESIDENCE located on land equal to 
• nine city lots, right in Somerville. five min- 
utes' walk to depot, variety of vegetables, fruit. 
apples, peaches, pears, cherries, grapes, line old 
shade and rare English walnut tree in full bear- 
ing, purchaser lias access to Duke's 2000 acre 
Park, the property cost $12,000, owner going 
West will accept $(1,500. 

A STOCK FARM 
'^00 aiTt-H. riKht in villaire 
Ne^v York Coiiiiiiutntion , $1 1 Monthly 
^EVER before have we had an opportunity of 
^^ offering sucli extraordinary bargain in a 
Village Farm of 200 acres fine land, all under | 
To see any of the ahove Farms take 9 a. ni 
Iviherty St. or West '^.'Sril St ., New York , and <'al 



pot 

cultivation, excepting five acre chestnut prove; 
an excellent Colonial residence of 14 large, cheer- 
ful well lighted rooms; lawn, shaded with grand 
old sugar maples; six large barns; the best apple 
orchard of 200 trees in New .Jersey, 50 cherry 
trees, peaches, pears, raspberries, strawberries; 
$7,000 worth of peaches sold in one year; seven 
pure, sparkling springs of health giving water, 
with fine stream connecting every field; 50 acres 
winter grain, wheat and rye; also 30 acres oats 
already planted and growing; ground plowed and 
prepared for 40 acres corn; this excellent farm, 
(none better) is located right in village of re- 
tired rich farmers and bankers, five minutes' walk 
to Post Office, schools, churches, hotel, depot and 
creamery. 

Never before have we had listed with us such 
a magnificent village farm ; sacrificed to close 
estate: only $20,000; easy terms arranged; this 
is a money maker now (a whole famil.v has re- 
tired wealthy from it) and a fortune maker in 
the natural increase of value of property during 
the next few years. 

ANNUAL INCOME OVER $5,000 

A 163 acre farm, 1% miles depot, main line 
•'* Jersey Central ; stone house. 10 rooms, tenant 
house, 4 rooms, good condition; 1,400 peach 
trees: exceptionally large apple orchard, abund- 
ance pears, plums, quinces, cherries, &c ; large 
number of good outbuildings : 30 acres woodland : 
cuts over 50 tons hay; ad.ioins farm of New 
York's famous potato King; valued $75,000: this 
magnificent farm considered one of the most fer- 
tile in the State, $8,500. 

A 300 ACRE FRUIT FARM 
$3 .000 Yearly Income 

r\EPOT on property, communtatlon $11.00 
*^ monthly, never before and never again will 
such an opportunity be available to secure 300 
acres of excellent farm land; 2,500 healthy bear- 
ing fruit trees ; positively no scale or disease : 
fruit sold on farm, good old fashioned house. 12 
rooms: te'ephone, four acres pines, 1.000 cord 
wood : cuts 70 tons hay ; income doubled by 
carrying 30 head of cows; would make excellent 
gentlemen's estate; magnificent scenery: excel- 
lent streams water; State put on this farm 50 
English pheasants and 12 Hungarian quail : this 
exceptionally desirable farm being sacrificed l)y 
widow account husband's death ; worth to-day 
double asking price; $15,000, half cash: If you 
know a real genuine bargain see this. 

AN INDEPENDENT Income awaits the purchaser 
^^ of this 10 acre farm, on main road, high ele- 
vation, pronounced by experts to be the healthiest 
spot in the State: two story house, eight rooms, 
excellent condition, nearly new ; fine old shade, 
stone milk house, with flowing springs : large 
barn, wagon house, granary, hennery, piggery, 
good condition; 30 apple trees, 7 choice cherry 
trees, pears, peaches, plums, strawberries, rasp- 
berries, blackberries and walnuts : land in good 
state of cultivation for trucking and vegetables: 
price $2,000. 

A COLONIAL FARM MANSION 
19 Kooms, .50 A«'res, 1 Hour Out 

D EAUTIFUL rolling rich soil in the highest 
^ state of cultivation, within two miles of three 
stations, on macadamized road, one hour from 
New York ; counted among the best and most pro- 
ductive farms in the state: divided into fields 
bordered by flourishing osage hedge : fine stream 
of water. Co'onial mansion situated high overlook- 
ing farm, with lawn dotted i)rofusely with variety 
of invaluable old shade, commanding an excellent 
view of the Musconetcong Mountains : cemented 
cellar under whole house, windmill and artesian 
well supplying abundance of pure sparkling water; 
large apple orchard, cherries, plums, quinces, pears, 
blackberries, raspberries, grapes, &c. : this 
charming home and productive farm will be sacrl- 
flceil by present owner for $15,000, the buildings 
alone cannot he reproduced under $25,000. 

. or 1 p. m.. Jersey <'entral train from foot of 
I at 



OSGOODBY'S (Opposite Depot) SOMERVILLE, N. J. 



k,^ ^%' 




Issued by Board of Trade 
Somerville, New Jersey 






ti- >v 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



014 209 252 9 



